Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a device for injection-molding and assembling plastic parts comprising a plurality of plastic components, in particular an injection-molding device with a rotatable cube tool as claimed in the pre-characterizing clause of the independent claims.
Discussion of Related Art
Injection-molding devices for injection molding with one or more rotating center mold parts, usually in the form of a cube, are known from the prior art. These are used, for example, for the efficient production of multi-component plastic parts.
An injection-molding machine with two parting planes and a turning system which is arranged between a fixed and a moving mold mounting plate and has a center rotating block with cavity halves on the side surfaces is presented in EP1155802. The center rotating block is retained between the mold mounting plates by a lower and an upper holding device and can be rotated about a vertical axis. The holding devices are guided on tie bars of the injection-molding machine. In order to compensate for the weight of the center mold part, the lower holding device can be supported on the machine bed of the injection-molding machine. A plastic component is injected into cavities between cavity halves on the mold mounting plates and the rotating block by means of injection stations, thus producing injection-molded parts. After injection, the injection-molded parts can remain on the rotating block and turned into a 90° rotated position for cooling and ejection.
An injection-molding device having a processing device arranged laterally on a rotating block, which processing device is intended for the processing or manipulation of parts or intermediate products which have been produced in a first or second parting plane and adhere to the rotating block, is disclosed in WO 2009/080827. The processing device can be mounted on a cross bar or holding frame of the injection-molding device and moves with the rotating block when it is traversed. Further, the processing device can be arranged on the holding frame so that it can move in at least one direction, enabling it to be positioned opposite the rotating block. The processing device can be provided by a capping device, for example, or further parts can be fed in and applied to the injection-molded parts by means of the processing device. This injection-molding device is not intended for the production of plastic parts comprising a plurality of different plastic components.
The production of injection-molded parts from a plurality of sub-elements in an injection-molding device with cube technology is likewise presented in WO2004/103676. In a first process area, two sub-elements are produced in cavities which are formed between outer first mold halves and second mold halves on a rotating cube. The cube with the sub-elements is then rotated into a second process area in which the sub-elements are joined by means of a manipulating device. By rotating further, the joined sub-elements come to rest in a third process area, in which they are joined to a third sub-element in a third cavity, the wall of the third cavity being formed in some areas by the first or second sub-element. By rotating further, the joined sub-elements move into a fourth process area, in which they are removed from the injection-molding device. When producing plastic parts with such an injection-molding device, additional processing units, which are necessary for handling the injection-molded parts during production, are required on both sides of the device.
DE 102006016200 describes a method for the production of multi-component plastic molded parts, wherein cavities, into which molten plastics are injected, are formed by means of two external mold mounting plates with external cavity halves and a center rotatable mold carrier element with at least four cavity halves in two parting planes. Here, in a first step, preforms of different components are produced in first cavities in the two parting planes. The mold carrier element is then rotated and new cavities are formed with other cavity halves of the mold carrier element, wherein the preforms remain in the external cavity halves of the external mold mounting plates. In a second step, the preforms are coated with a PUR skin. A robot system, which comprises gripper and pre-treatment units, by means of which separating agents, for example, are applied to the surfaces of mold halves or the finished components can be removed, is arranged next to the injection-molding device. Here, the different components are finished on different sides of the rotatable mold carrier element, which makes removal and further processing of the components more difficult. Further, grippers, which intervene between the cavity halves, must be provided on both sides of the injection-molding device in order to remove the components.
The same applies to a device for removing workpieces from an injection-molding device according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,387. This is based on swinging arms, which, when the injection-molding device is open, can be swung into the parting plane from the side about an axis of rotation arranged parallel to the parting plane.